White: UFC Worth $7 Billion After ESPN Deal

According to a new interview with Dana White, the UFC’s value is double what it sold for in 2016.

Following a $4.025 billion purchase of the UFC by Endeavor in August 2016, the UFC had the most lucrative year in company history in 2017, White now claims the UFC’s new $1.5 billion deal with ESPN have set their value at $7 billion.

“When you think about it we haven’t even scratched the surface yet of how big this thing can be,” White said in a recent interview with Tony Robbins. “We just did a TV deal with ESPN for $1.5 billion for five years. Now the company is worth $7 billion.”

While TV ratings may be down, following a near record gate for UFC 229’s presales and the beginning of the ESPN deal on January 1st, White feels there is a lot of upward momentum for the MMA brand leader.

White believes that more exposure will come for the UFC and its fighters with the new deal with ESPN will lead to a better overall product.

“Obviously this ESPN deal is going to be massive for us, expose us to millions of people just here in the U.S. that haven’t been exposed to the UFC,” White said.

“We’re going to continue to go into markets we haven’t been, we’re going to continue to find the best talent in the world. I love to find up-and-coming talent. I love to find the next guy or girl. Continue to build the sport. That’s it. That’s my focus. It’s not rocket science, it’s nothing crazy. Just continue to do what we do and get bigger and bigger.”